Help Us Bring Paid Family and Medical Leave to D.C.

Posted by on October 06, 2015 at 12:00 PM

When families go through big life challenges, like having a new child or fighting a serious illness, they all too often struggle to make ends meet. Nearly everyone needs to take time away from their job at some point to care for a relative, deal with a serious personal illness, or welcome a new child but most often their leave is unpaid. Fewer than 40% of workers earn any income when facing a serious personal health issue. Only 13% of workers nationally have access to any paid family leave. Most staggering though is lack of access to family leave for our lowest-paid and most marginalized workers – in low income jobs, a mere 5% of parents are able to continue earning an income when caring for a newborn or a seriously ill relative.

The Universal Paid Leave Act will ensure that everyone living or working in the District will be able to take paid leave when they need to care for themselves or their family. Learn more about our efforts to secure #PaidLeave4DC!

Read answers to frequently asked questions and make sure to share this overview on Paid Family Leave with your friends. You can also read the press release on Councilmember Silverman's introduction of the Universal Paid Family Leave Act and her newsletter on how the program would work in the District.

How You Can Support the Legislation

We need you to voice your support for bringing paid family and medical leave to the District!

Send an email of support to the Mayor and councilmembers, particularly the six who have yet to sign on to the bill, and join the D.C. Paid Family Leave email campaign!

Promote the D.C. Paid Family Leave campaign online through your personal social media accounts and your organization’s accounts. Check out #PaidLeave4DC to see how it’s done on Twitter!

Meet with a D.C. councilmember to express your or your organization’s support. Chairman Mendelson and Councilmembers Bonds, Evans, Todd, Alexander, and Orange did not sign on to co-introduce the bill. However, it’s important to thank those councilmembers who did co-introduce and ask them to keep supporting a strong bill that provides enough leave for D.C. families.

Connect with one of the awesome advocacy organizations driving the D.C. Paid Family Leave discussion—and add your organization or business to the list! Organizations participating in the D.C. Paid Family Leave Coalition are listed on the campaign website.

Share resources with your friends, family, and other District residents about the benefits of passing the paid leave bill when it goes before the Council for a vote. You can find answers to frequently asked questions and a short overview on paid leave on our website.